Future doctors conferred with practicing osteopathic physicians recently on some critical topics in the North Godwin Elementary gymnasium.
A healthy lifestyle leads to a strong body and brain, good for pursuing a career in medicine, students learned during Mini-Medical School, where they listened to doctors explain what they do every day and why it’s important.
First- through fourth-graders in the after-school program TEAM 21 visited six stations manned by osteopathic physicians representing the Family Medicine Residency program at Metro Health – University of Michigan Health’s Community Clinic and members of the Michigan Health Council.
“I learned that your kidneys are in your back,” said fourth-grader Hunter Longstreet, as he posed for a photo while holding a “Mini Medical School Graduate” certificate that gave him the title “Future Doctor.”
Hunter Longstreet earns his certificate
Donning doctor’s coats, students examined X-rays and learned about bone health, tested medical instruments, practiced hygiene using hand sanitizer to kill germs, affixed Velcro organs to an anatomy apron, and received lessons in nutrition and exercise.
“We learned how to use the equipment,” said student Laura Munoz-Castillo. “When your skin gets ripped you can get germs inside. That’s why you should wear a Band-Aid.”
Brandess Wallace, community engagement and education coordinator for the Michigan Health Council, said the mission of the event is multi-faceted.
“One goal is to take the mystery out of and alleviate the fear that might go with visiting the doctor; another is to show kids what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle and, finally, we want to expose these kids to medicine as a potential career,” Wallace said.
Ellen Hensel, TEAM 21 site coordinator, said career exploration is an important component of the enrichment program.
“This is just something new they might not be able to fit into the school day that we can provide after school,” she said. “A lot of them might not have thought about being a doctor some day, but now it’s on their radar.”
From left, Sabrina Reeder, Adrian Vital, Yeinier Collazo and Barnard Davis, Jr., use hand sanitizer
How well students achieve in school is often connected to the income levels of their families. This set of stories explores some of this data and how schools with lower income families are working to remove barriers to student learning
At Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, the Kent County district with the lowest family income, the correlation between M-STEP scores and poverty is stark. More than 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced priced lunch in the one-square mile district and 27 percent of third-graders are proficient in English language arts. The statewide average is 44.1 percent.
Poverty is a major factor considered in instruction practices, wrap-around services and ongoing education reform efforts. Superintendent Kevin Polston pointed out where Godfrey-Lee third graders fall on a graph (see above) that illustrates the link between poverty and third-grade reading proficiency. “It shows the impact that poverty has on achievement.”
“Ideally, we want to be one of these outliers,” he said, referring to schools on the graph that are high achievers despite high poverty rates. Those, sadly, are few and far between.
There has to be a big-picture approach when dealing with poverty in schools in order to disrupt the impact on student achievement, he said.
Godfrey-Lee is focused on first meeting basic needs, food, water, warmth and rest, so learning can take place. “The basics of life for some kids are not basic,” said Assistant Superintendent Carol Lautenbach.
To meet those needs – so students are in the classrooms ready to learn – the district has in place Kent School Services Network, which provides dental, health and vision services; Kids Food Basket, which provides sack suppers for children to bring home after school, and universal free breakfast and lunch programs.
Those type of things help build foundations for student learning, Lautenbach said, “Those are really tangible ways we are trying to bridge the gap for kids,” she said.
Recognizing Their Strengths
But there’s another piece in educating students in poverty that often gets overlooked: the strengths they already have. “I don’t like the term disadvantaged,” Polston said.
“Any of our folks intimately involved with this are very good at looking at the hidden strengths that we sometimes ask people to check at the door,” Lautenbach added.
Many people who live in poverty, such as immigrant and refugee students are risk-takers because they have to be. Those experiences can be part of creating the foundation for success that goes way beyond knowing content.
The district is using a strength-based Learner Profile based on the6Cs, skills considered vital for success in future careers. They are collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence along with content-knowledge. It’s a strength-based system, Lautenbach explained.
But despite their strengths, children who live in poverty often have limited experiences compared to more affluent families. Seeing Lake Michigan, for example, is different than looking at a picture of it. The district works to provide opportunities for students to experience and explore.
“Their worlds are very small and focused on family, or survival or a small geographic area. (We ask) ‘How can we create more experiences for them so they have more to draw on?’ Lautenbach said. Barriers to reaching reading proficiency can include minimal exposure to academic vocabulary, a lack of books in the home or access to preschool programs.
Kelloggsville Staff Focusing on Poverty & Learning
Kelloggsville Public Schools, where 79 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, is also digging deep into meeting the learning needs of students by assisting with basic needs and building relationships. Staff members are continuing a district-wide book study on “Teaching with Poverty in Mind,” by Erik Jensen, a former reading teacher who synthesizes brain research and develops practical applications for educators.
Assistant Superintendent Tammy Savage said students raised in poverty often live day-to-day and aren’t empowered with information about what they can become in the future. She’s not disparaging their parents, she explained, as many are working so hard to make ends meet, they can’t easily focus beyond the present.
“Parents in poverty are in survival mode rather than in the mode of teaching their children what they can be. It’s a cycle and it’s hard to break,” Savage said.
Still, Kelloggsville is making strides, she said, that are reflected in data. On M-STEP, 31.9 percent of third graders were proficient in ELA, but that’s just one piece. “We can pull out data from the classroom that shows huge gains from the beginning to end of the school year.”
Statewide Reading Scores Tend to Follow Poverty or Wealth
This chart provides a visual depiction –statewide — of the impact of poverty combined with test scores in M-STEP 3rd grade reading. Each dot represents a school building. On the left is the percent of students who scored “proficient,” with zero at the bottom and 100 percent at the top. The data below is the percent of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch, a common poverty indicator, with zero per cent of students at the left and 100 percent of students on the right.
Although many high-poverty schools, according to this chart, struggle with reading proficiency, there are also many scoring quite high. These schools, despite issues of poverty, are finding ways to help students read well. Figuring out how they are accomplishing this and duplicating their success is the mission of Reading Now Network. All 20 of the districts within Kent ISD are participants in this network of hundreds of schools.
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
The Wyoming Godwin Heights offense, shown here Aug. 31 at Hesperia, is off and running this season. (Courtesy John Mathews/Action Plus Photography)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
The Wyoming Godwin Heights football team has jumped off to a 2-0 start in non-conference action — and has piled up 88 points on offense against Hamilton and Hesperia. But both games were on the road.
This week, the Wolverines will treat their home fans to a little of that offensive prowess, and a special “Community Tailgate” event, in the team’s OK Silver Conference opener as WKTV video crew will be at Godwin for a home game against Calvin Christian, on Friday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m.
So far this year, the Wolverine scoring machine has been keyed by senior quarterback Suriya Davenport, who has scored eight touchdowns in the two games; junior running back De’Amontae Clark, who is averaging nearly 13 yards a carry; and junior tight end Marshawn Kneeland, who leads the team with nine catches for 144 yards.
Kneeland, one of several players who play both ways, is also a standout on the defense, where senior linebacker James Bennett leads with 24 tackles and senior lineman Sixto Cruz is also in double-figures in tackles.
But second-year Godwin Head Coach Carlton Brewster says the reason for the good start goes back further than two weeks.
“It is all about the seniors on this football team, these guys spent so much time in the off-season getting bigger, stronger and faster,” Brewster said to WKTV this week. “These guys carry chip on their shoulder on the feeling of being 5-5 last season.”
Last year, the Wolverines finished 3-3 in conference, 5-4 overall and in the state playoffs, but that “chip on their shoulder” was that the team lost in the first round of the playoffs at Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 43-0.
And that “chip” will not go away however well the team has started, Brewster said.
“We must continue to push each other every day of the week, don’t get complacent and continue to hold each other accountable,” he said. “I will not let them get complacent because I am constantly challenging them each and everyday.”
WKTV will broadcast the Calvin Christian at Godwin Heights game Friday at about 11 p.m. on WKTV Comcast Channel 25, repeating it on Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood.
‘Community Tailgate’ event planned prior to the game
In what started as a collaboration with police officers of the City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety and Godwin Heights Public Schools, the athletic department will continue to offer its Community Tailgate event prior to the game.
“Twice a year, once during football season and once during basketball season, the district hosts a Community Tailgate that allows free entry to the game and food to families of Godwin Heights students,” Godwin Heights Athletic Director Rob Hisey said to WKTV. “Anyone who lives in the Godwin Heights Public School District, School of Choice students and their families, previous graduates, and anyone employed by Godwin Heights.”
The event runs from 6-7 p.m. (after that the normal $5 entry fee will be charged).
“The goal of holding the Community Tailgate is to provide a friendly and safe environment where our community members can enjoy the companionship of the entire Godwin Heights educational community,” Hisey said. “This community consist of community members, students, parents, Godwin Heights employees, friends and relatives of our students.”
Aa’Naja Miller knows what it’s like to be unable to get her words out right, but when she stood in front of her classmates to talk about stuttering her voice was strong and clear.
The North Godwin Elementary School fourth-grader recently delivered a presentation, “My Experience with Stuttering” to her class. She has struggled with a speech disorder her whole life, and said children often tease her because of it.
“I stutter,” she said. “I can’t help it.”
There was no teasing that day. Instead, students listened in awe. “She looked like a teacher up there,” said classmate Donnie VanHorn. “She was so brave.”
Aa’Naja and North Godwin speech pathologist Sarah Toering created the presentation to give students a better understanding of stuttering. Toering also wanted to challenge Aa’Naja to speak in front of her peers.
“The purpose for me doing this presentation is for kids to know that I stutter, and that you don’t have to rush me because I know I do have to take my time,” she said. “I’m trying, but it just doesn’t come out right.”
She explained what a speech pathologist is, and how Toering has helped her learn strategies to overcome stuttering. She told students that others who have overcome stuttering include Vice President Joe Biden, NFL player Darren Sproles, actress Emily Blunt and late actress Marilyn Monroe.
According to The Stuttering Foundation, roughly three million Americans stutter. Approximately five percent of all children go through a period of stuttering that lasts six months or more. Three-quarters of those will recover by late childhood, leaving about one percent with a long-term stutter. The best prevention tool is early intervention.
Aa’Naja Miller spoke of her experience with stuttering
Aa’Naja included an interactive activity in her presentation, inviting classmates to practice stuttering with partners. She informed them of different types of stutters:
repetitions, which means repeating a word like “Do, do do you like pizza?”
blocks, which means getting stuck on a letter, like “D-d-do you like pizza?”
prolongations, which means holding a sound, like “IIIII like pizza!”
interjections, which means adding words, like “Um, do you, um, like pizza?”
Aa’Naja also introduced strategies she uses to stop stuttering, which include talking slowly, stretching out her words, taking a deep breath before she speaks and moving her mouth and tongue lightly while talking. She often uses her strategies automatically now, without having to think about them.
Classmate Donnie said “I learned to stick up for people who have stuttering problems and don’t make fun of them.”
Teacher Lisa Koeman said she had tears in her eyes during Aa’Naja’s presentation. Hearing her speak to her classmates, confidently and knowledgeably was inspiring.
“Aa’Naja didn’t stutter once,” Koeman said. “It was amazing. It was perfect. She acted like she was up on stage and has done this 100 times before. It was just breathtaking.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
